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Fencer Vulns
critical 10.0

CVE-2023-2163 in the critical feed json

Incorrect Verifier Branch Pruning Logic Leads To Arbitrary Read/Write In Linux Kernel and Lateral Privilege Escalation

published 2023-09-20 3 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2023-33680

cvss
10.0
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
3.6%
EPSS 3.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 89%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

Incorrect verifier pruning in BPF in Linux Kernel >=5.4 leads to unsafe code paths being incorrectly marked as safe, resulting in arbitrary read/write in kernel memory, lateral privilege escalation, and container escape.

Patch / fix

  • linux linux_kernel 5.4.242, 5.10.179, 5.15.109, 6.1.26, 6.2.13
  • linux Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 6.1.27-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2023-2163

  • linux Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-162.179
  • linux Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-79.86
  • linux-aws Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-1109.118
  • linux-aws Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1042.47
  • linux-gcp Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-1112.121
  • linux-gcp Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1039.47
  • linux-gke Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1039.44
  • linux-ibm Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-1056.61

ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2023-2163

Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • perf rhev hypervisor 4.4, RHEL 8.6 EUS 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6
  • kernel RHEL 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • perf RHEL 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • bpftool RHEL 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • kernel-core RHEL 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • kernel-tools RHEL 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • python3-perf RHEL 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • kernel-modules RHEL 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9

red hat advisories RHSA-2024:1306RHSA-2024:1250RHSA-2024:0439RHSA-2024:0448RHSA-2024:0412RHSA-2023:7549

  • kernel-azure SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.33.23.1
  • kernel-syms-azure SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.33.23.1
  • kernel-source-azure SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.33.23.1
  • dtb-aarch64 openSUSE Leap 15.4 5.14.21-150400.24.97.1
  • kernel-64kb SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP4, openSUSE Leap 15.4 5.14.21-150400.24.97.1
  • kernel-syms SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP4, openSUSE Leap 15.4 5.14.21-150400.24.97.1
  • kernel-obs-qa openSUSE Leap 15.4 5.14.21-150400.24.97.1
  • kernel-source SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP4, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP4, openSUSE Leap 15.4 5.14.21-150400.24.97.1

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2023:4872-1SUSE-SU-2023:4871-1SUSE-SU-2023:4866-1SUSE-SU-2023:4867-1SUSE-SU-2023:4863-1SUSE-SU-2023:4862-1

  • kernel AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • perf AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • bpftool AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • kernel-core AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • kernel-tools AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • python3-perf AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • kernel-modules AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • kernel-zfcpdump AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9

almalinux advisories ALSA-2023:7549

  • kernel Rocky Linux 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9.cloud
  • kernel Rocky Linux 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
  • kernel-rt Rocky Linux 8 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9

rocky linux advisories RXSA-2023:7549RLSA-2023:7549RLSA-2023:7548

  • kernel CBL-Mariner 2.0 5.15.133.1-1

azure linux advisories AZL-29941

Azure Linux vulnerability data, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, from https://github.com/microsoft/AzureLinuxVulnerabilityData via OSV, under the MIT licence; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. MIT

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2023-2163 updated cvss 8.2

kernel: bpf: Incorrect verifier pruning leads to unsafe code paths being incorrectly marked as safe

  • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:7549
  • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.6) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0412
  • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.8) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0575
  • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.0) kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:1250
  • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.2) kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0448
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.0) perf 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, kernel-devel-matched 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, kernel-debug-devel-matched 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, kernel-zfcpdump-devel-matched 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, +2 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:1250
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.2) perf 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, rtla 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, kernel-devel-matched 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-devel-matched 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, kernel-debug-devel-matched 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, +5 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0448
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) perf 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9, kernel 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9, bpftool 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9, kernel-core 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9, kernel-tools 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9, python3-perf 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9, +16 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:7549
show 21 more
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS AUS (v. 8.2) perf 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, kernel 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, bpftool 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, kernel-core 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, kernel-tools 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, python3-perf 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, +8 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0403
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS AUS (v.8.4) perf 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, kernel 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, bpftool 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, kernel-core 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, kernel-tools 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, python3-perf 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, +8 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0562
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v. 8.2) perf 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, kernel 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, bpftool 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, kernel-core 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, kernel-tools 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, python3-perf 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, +13 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0403
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v.8.4) perf 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, kernel 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, bpftool 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, kernel-core 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, kernel-tools 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, python3-perf 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, +13 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0562
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.6) perf 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6, kernel 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6, bpftool 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6, kernel-core 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6, kernel-tools 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6, python3-perf 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6, +19 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0412
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.8) perf 4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8, kernel 4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8, bpftool 4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8, kernel-core 4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8, kernel-tools 4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8, python3-perf 4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8, +18 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0575
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.0) kernel 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, bpftool 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, kernel-core 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, kernel-tools 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, python3-perf 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, kernel-modules 5.14.0-70.93.2.el9_0, +19 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:1250
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.2) bpftool 7.0.0-284.48.1.el9_2, kernel 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, kernel-64k 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, kernel-core 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, kernel-tools 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, python3-perf 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2, +32 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0448
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS TUS (v. 8.2) perf 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, kernel 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, bpftool 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, kernel-core 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, kernel-tools 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, python3-perf 4.18.0-193.120.1.el8_2, +8 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0403
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS TUS (v.8.4) perf 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, kernel 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, bpftool 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, kernel-core 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, kernel-tools 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, python3-perf 4.18.0-305.120.1.el8_4, +8 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0562
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Real Time (v. 8) kernel-rt 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, kernel-rt-debug-modules 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, kernel-rt-modules-extra 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, +2 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:7548
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV TUS (v.8.4) kernel-rt 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, kernel-rt-kvm 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0563
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v.9.0) kernel-rt 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-modules 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, kernel-rt-modules-extra 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, +2 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:1306
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v.9.2) kernel-rt 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, kernel-rt-modules-core 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-modules 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0439
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 8) kernel-rt 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, kernel-rt-kvm 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-513.9.1.rt7.311.el8_9, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:7548
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v.9.0) kernel-rt 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, kernel-rt-kvm 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-70.93.1.rt21.165.el9_0, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:1306
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v.9.2) kernel-rt 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, kernel-rt-kvm 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-284.48.1.rt14.333.el9_2, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0439
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV TUS (v. 8.2) kernel-rt 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, kernel-rt-kvm 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, +4 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time TUS (v. 8.2) kernel-rt 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, kernel-rt-debug-modules 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, kernel-rt-modules-extra 4.18.0-193.120.1.rt13.171.el8_2, +2 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0402
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT TUS (v.8.4) kernel-rt 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, kernel-rt-debug-modules 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, kernel-rt-modules-extra 4.18.0-305.120.1.rt7.196.el8_4, +2 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0563
  • Red Hat Virtualization 4 Hypervisor for RHEL 8 perf 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-372.87.1.el8_6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2024:0412
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, +8 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 rv, perf, rtla, kernel, bpftool, libperf, +83 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.2) kernel-doc 5.14.0-284.48.1.el9_2
    not affected: vulnerable code not present

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total
Assessed
20 mo ago

Exploit prediction

3.64% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 89% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 10.0 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
NVD 3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

  • Linux Linux Kernel

Classification

Weakness
Technology feeds

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.